Ice
by j.curl
Summary: Kagome and Sesshomaru. Alternate universe. Scandals, corruption, and a girl who is fiercely independant.
1. The Lady and the Naginata

I am a horrible person to post this story while others are waiting for me to finish ongoing fics, but as Navi-kun will swear I've had this fic in my document folders for almost 2 years now.

The Lady and the Naginata

**Japanese lingo/names**

Mareo: rare; uncommon

Meiko: bright

Inu-nishi: dogs of the west; western dogs

Jomei: spread light

Hoshikito: star of the north; north star

Jiro: second son

Renzo: third son

shugo: guard

Kaiya: forgiveness

Makoto: good; sincere

Akeno: in the morning; bright shining field

Hisa: long-lasting

Ichiro: first son

Goro: fifth son

00000

_"They are hiding something! We should have dealt with Mareo at the first sign of resistance!" a masculine voice shrieked. Somewhere, a woman sighed._

_"It means nothing. Mieko has not the brains to be planning something of a danger to us," an authoratative female scoffed. " We make the decisions. We will bend the circumstances to fit our outcome. They are pawns pretending to be princes."_

00000

Kagome was not meant to be an upper-class youkai. At least not a female one. Still, it was better than being a useless noblewoman of the human race. A decoration. The thought brought a slight shudder to her shoulders. No, Kagome was meant to do great things, have great adventures...things befitting to her great spirit. She ran her hand along the black, scaly neck of the demon horse she rode.

She was meant for running and fighting, battles and bloodshed. Instead, her gender forced her to become the tool of her father. The only daughter of the Lord of the Northeastern Lands; the land of snow and frost. An inuyoukai with night black-hair, ice-blue eyes, and moon-pale skin. A navy blue Northern Star on her forehead, pale lilac stripes on her cheekbones and wrists, and black lining her eyes. It would be one more night until she was received at the House of the Westen Lands, coincidentally also inuyoukai. A present for the eldest son. Yet another female he could choose to breed with if he desired. A desire that would bring honor to her family's house. She looked to the stars, her breath apparent in the chill air.

"Jomei," She whispered to her only companion and the arctic kitsune was at her side immediately. His pale hair and complexion made his eyes look greener even in the moonlight. She pleaded with him one last time. " I do not want to be there."

"I will be at your side, my lady," he answered sympathetically, then added. "Besides, Sesshomaru is known for his arrogance. He may not choose you."

"May not?" a gravelly laugh escaped her. "Will not is more like it. I will see to that. My only worry is that he will wait another century to choose and the best hundred years of my life will be wasted!"

There was silence for a time. Then her voice came again, hesitant and soft.

"Jomei," he flicked a glance in her direction. "You will not leave me, will you?"

A half smile appeared on his face.

"Never, my Lady."

00

"Another? You cannot be serious," Sesshomaru said blandly. His father gave him a weary look.

"She is an ambassador for her house," Inutashio replied. "The Northeastern Clan has yet to replace the old one."

"Ahhh yes. And it just happens to be a female, coincidentally the same time the Council has decided to announce my eligibility for mating."

"Yes."

Sesshomaru just looked at the elder inuyoukai.

"You will find one. All you need is an heir and you can have nothing to do with her again. They have a reputation of breeding young and well."

"And disgrace her by taking a mistress or several concubines?" Sesshomaru asked.

"It will not be as though you are the first to do such a thing, as long as she is provided for. And it might not come to that if she is worthy enough" Inutashio answered.

"You take her for a mate then, and make yourself respectable again," the younger dog demon said. Inutashio gave him a pointed look and his only son spun on his heel and proceeded to exit the room.

Sesshomaru walked through the halls with many thoughts in his mind. He wouldn't be in this situation if his father's new human pet hadn't miscarried once again. The brat wasn't even full demon; how hard can a hanyou pregnancy be? It was the twelfth human his father had taken up with. The first one had been over four hundred years ago, when Sesshomaru had not even broken a century...Izayoi, or something of that sort. She had the name picked out from the time she found out she was with child. A stupid name as well.

_Inuyasha_.

A sneer nearly appeared on Sesshomaru's features just thinking the name.

00

The sun was just beginning to rise.

"We have arrived Lady Kagome," Jomei noted.

"Yes," she agreed. The Western Kingdom was the largest holding followed closely by the South and the richness showed in the home of the lord. It followed in the traditional style of Japanese housing, but on a much grander scale, with eight main buildings surrounded by numerous smaller ones. It was set on land that provided a tactical advantage; on a hill that rose with the sun. The main gates were on the eastern side and standing at them created the visual image of each section of the house slightly higher than the previous. The western and southern edges of the palace were protected by steep cliffs that ended in water. As one went through the compound, it became apparent that the architecture was modeled after the step-like pattern of rice paddies on a mountain, only less steep. Stone steps and roads wound like snakes up to the main hall and housing for the nobility. Kagome noticed the large dojo set off to the side, somewhat hidden from the main route and tucked the knowledge away.

Finally reaching the end, Kagome and Jomei were brought to the ambassador's chambers. He was shown a room across the hall, as it wasn't proper to be in a room next to an unwed lady. She shooed away the servants sent to help her and unpacked the clothes she had brought. Most of the kimonos she was supposed to be using were provided by the host, as was custom with potential brides. She knew the Inu-nishi were not stupid. They saw through her 'official' role as ambassador. Fortunately for her pride Kagome had plenty of her own.

She changed into a navy kimono with a pattern of origami cranes and what looked like ripples when a finger is dipped into still water. Both designs were white with the three under-kimonos in alternating layers of white and red. The obi was the same red. The demoness knocked softly on Jomei's door. He too was changed out of his traveling clothes and into a hakama and happi with her family's crest on the back and a smaller version over his heart.

Jomei couldn't help but notice how beautiful his lady was, even in plain clothing. He had been her sole protector since she reached one hundred and three winters, himself only a century and a half at the time. He had been given the prestigious position of protecting the only daughter of the Hoshikito Clan not only because of the fact that his family had served the Northeastern Lords for half a millennia, but also for his precocious ability with any weapon one could find. He had defeated fifty two of the greatest warriors available, including his elder brothers, Jiro and Renzo. Kagome joked from time to time that she would feel safe even if he had only a dead fish to defend her with.

"My Lady," Jomei bowed. Kagome stopped herself from grimacing and rolling her eyes. Jomei refused to call her just Kagome, even when they were alone.

"I want to tour the grounds a little before we have to bathe and eat dinner. Would you accompany me?" she asked politely.

"One moment, Lady," he disappeared into his quarters for a few minutes and returned with a katana and tanto on his person. She knew from experience that there were also shuriken spread liberally on his person, both the star-shaped and the needle-like kind.

"What do you wish to see first?" he inquired. Kagome thought a moment.

"Nothing in particular, I just want to get to know the grounds."

"Hmm, yes. Best not to go straight for the dojo on the first day. That would cause a stir."

"Jomei!" Kagome exclaimed. "You knew!"

His only response was a slight smile.

Kagome loved it when he teased her. He became less guarded, less formal.

"Well, I need to practice. It's not like I'm a frail human who can't protect herself."

"Ladies of your class learn how to use their own natural demonic abilities. They do not learn how to swing a naginata, or conceal a tanto, or throw a shuriken..." He was cut off.

"Ladies of my class, unfortunately, don't have the greatest warrior and teacher as one of their friends."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, then looked down. He hated what he would say next, but she had to be reminded of their relationship.

"I am a shugo, not a friend, Lady," Jomei said softly. This time, Kagome did not turn away with tears in her eyes. She looked up at him, almost pleading.

"There is nothing saying you can't be both." Her voice was startlingly hopeful.

"Lady Kagome!" a squawk from somewhere below kneecap level startled the two. "I have come to see if you have any questions."

He...It announced loudly and bowed.

"Can I ask your name, sir?" Kagome said, thrown Jomei a puzzled look.

"Jaken! Loyal Retainer to the Most Awesome and Powerful Lord Sesshomaru!" his arms and beak were waving wildly in the air and Kagome tried to smother her giggles in her sleeve.

"Ahhh...Jaken. No I do not have any questions at the moment. Me and Jo..." Jomei gave her a silencing look with eyes of jade. He had the uncanny ability to do so and practiced it on her often. She sighed in resignation. "My guard was to accompany me on a tour."

"Yes! We'll have a tour! I know these grounds like no other! If you would please follow me, Lady." The toad youkai waddled off, expecting the two to follow him as he began a lengthy monologue of the more useless bits of information about the estate.

"Can you please put Kaiya in my room right now before anyone notices and then catch up? She can go under my bed; no one will look there." The kitsune nodded, knowing he shouldn't leave her side, but not willing to tell her no on such a trivial thing.

He returned to his chamber and retrieved the naginata that was wrapped first in cotton and then in heavy silk. It had been a secret present from him on the day she turned one hundred and twenty one. She had somehow conviced him that she needed to be knowledgeable in fighting with a weapon...

Who was he trying to fool? She had wanted to learn and since the day she became his charge, Kagome had gotten nearly whatever she wanted from him. So he brought her an array of weaponry to see in which her skills would lie. The naginata was the first she had picked up off of the tatami mat floor. It was nothing special; a worn practice blade. She ran her hands along the pitted and marked wooden shaft and spun it once, slowly. It weighed a considerable amount, even for a demon.

She learned other weapons. She was adept at some more than others, yet the naginata was her first love. She could even beat him now, about once for every three times they fought if he were using only that.

It had taken a long time for him to acquire her present. The staff was made of ebony, the black wood that could not float. The wood was covered with lacy metalwork in an abstract flower pattern to protect it from chipping when other blades fell against it in battle. It was topped with thirteen inches of blue steel, so sharp it would slice a hair in half should it choose to fall there. There was not another like it, to his knowledge.

He had it made with the power of Inutaisho's katanas in mind and he knew that should his lady be able to master it, the naginata could freeze one hundred of the enemy in one swing.

The look on her face when he presented it to her was in his mind, even now, more than a hundred years later...

(flashback)

_"Jomei! It's incredible!" Kagome exclaimed._

_"You must keep your voice down, my lady, else someone find us and see," he admonished gently. Said lady suddenly threw her arms around his neck in an embrace, her body pressed against his... Jomei hesitantly reached his arms around her._

_"Oh Jomei, thank you! It is the best present anyone has ever given me!" she whispered._

(back to the present)

She had named the weapon Kaiya. Forgiveness. It puzzled him even now, though she had tried to explain. So she told him a story.

"There once was a miko. She was the keeper of the Shikon Jewel and fell in love with a demon whose mate had recently died in childbirth. He returned her love and promised to make her his wife. He went to the Council to ask permission to marry the miko but they refused, saying he was too high ranking and powerful to fall slave to the love of a human. The demon disobeyed them and took her for a wife secretly. She took care of the two children he had before she came along, and about ten years later she found her stomach growing swollen with a child of their own, odd, because she was one of the more powerful mikos of her time and the purity in her should have killed any demonic thing that tried to grow in her. The child was born, a son, and then the Council killed her."

Jomei had been startled at the ending, but didn't question his mistress as to how a weapon could bestow forgiveness. He let it go as something he would, and did, learn later on. His father had implied something like that when he and his brothers battled for the right to defend her.

00

Jomei appeared at her side abruptly. If Kagome had not been used to it, she would have been startled.

"I will find us a place to practice, my lady, away from the City," Jomei said. He had learned early on in his duties that it was best to go head on into a confrontation with Kagome less she decide not to include him in in her plans.

"Nonsense Jomei, this isn't home and I am allowed to practice in the dojo," she scoffed.

"Your father will discover I have been teaching you," he pointed out.

"No you haven't. Some nice, wealthy, powerful demon has been teaching me since I arrived here. I just happen to have a knack for it," she explained innocently. "And look someone sent a naginata to me but there was no name to tell me who it was from!"

Jomei rolled his eyes and continued to follow the toad. He wished he had the power to refuse Kagome something other than his admittance to a friendship with her.

"Jaken?"

"Yes, Lady Kagome!"

"Would it be too much trouble to have you show us the dojo? I would like my guard to know where it is."

"Of course, Lady Kagome! Follow me!"

It wasn't hard to get around the keep. Kanji and arrows telling you where to go were expertly engraved into stones on the ground and made to look as though it were natural to have a rock telling you 'go this way to the hot springs'.

They arrived at the dojo, larger even than the one at home, Jomei noted. Kagome didn't wait for Jaken but climbed up the few steps to the entrance doors and slid them open. The noise of wooden and metal weapons banging against each other was loud, but not overly so. Jaken began sputtering apologies for a lady to have to see something like this, but Kagome paid no mind. She ventured further into the large room with Jomei close by her side, taking in all of the unique fighting styles. Every demon in here was in their humanoid form and using their natural abilities along with the weapons. All except one. One using only an enourmous halberd, taking on three bear demons.

Kagome watched in barely contained rapture as one worthy of the blade cut his way through his enemies' defenses. It was like a curious dance; slashing and blocking, whirling and stabbing. His eyes were moving faster than his hands, searching for openings as he blocked and looked and spun and cut and _oh..._

She knew. She knew the weight of the blade and the pull when you swung and how it was so beautiful you didn't breathe, and you didn't care if you couldn't breathe because it was _just so right_ in that moment and nothing could touch you and you would remember to breathe later be cause now, _now_ was what mattered and victory and...

"My lady," Jomei interrupted. "I would like you to meet..."

And in that moment the man fighting made a wild, full-circle swing above his head and Kagome almost yelled to him that he left his entire body unprotected, but then the bear demons' heads fell to the ground.

"Unexpected, Commander Bankotsu."

The demon, with long silver hair commended the fighter. Kagome knew him to be Sesshomaru; everyone knew Sesshomaru the instant they looked upon his countenance and emotionless amber eyes. Said demon walked towards Bankotsu with his sword drawn slashing a blue arc over the fallen bears that reattached their severed heads. They arose and shook themselves, like they were shaking off Death's touch. Kagome touched Jomei's arm in a silent query.

"Sesshomaru's sword, the Tenseiga, cuts only death. It may revive as many as one hundred fallen in one swing."

Kagome nodded mutely in amazement when Jaken's squawking broke her shock.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru! May I present Lady Kagome of the House of the North and her personal shugo, Jomei, son of Toshiro of the Arctic Kitsune tribe!"

All named bowed in turn, and by this time the warriors had noticed the presence of a woman and had stopped sparring. Consequently, the only sound was the clacking of the lapis lazuli beads attached to the ends of the chopsticks embedded in the two buns that made up Kagome's hairstyle as she made a small bow.

"Lady Kagome, may I inquire as to how your guard talk you into visiting the dojo?" Sesshomaru asked. Kagome could not tell if he was being humorous or derogatory, so she told the truth.

"He didn't my lord, I asked to see them." This announcement brought a quirk of an eyebrow.

"And why, pray tell, did you have the urge to visit the dojo? Ladies of your status do not belong here," he said, once again emotionless. That brought smirks of amuzement to a few of the soldiers' faces. Jomei let loose an inward sigh, but did nothing to stop the all-too-honest response that bubbled up from his mistress' lips.

"I was deciding if it was a suitable place for me to practice," Kagome said, unwavering. She knew that he was baiting her and didn't like it at all. There was a silence that greeted her words. For one of the very few times in his life Sesshomaru was stunned. But he quickly recovered.

"Really, Lady Kagome I was not joking..." she cut him off.

"Nor was I."

Both looked at each other for a moment, then Bankotsu spoke up.

"My lord, If I may..." Sesshomaru glanced his aquiescence and Bankotsu continued. "What is your weapon of choice?"

Jomei let loose a warning rumble deep in his throat and Bankotsu added quickly "Lady Kagome."

"The naginata," she answered evenly. A few guffaws turned into badly concealed coughs. Bankotsu had on a very wide smile.

"Oh really? That's a big weapon for a woman such as yourself. I should like to see you fight then."

"Last warning, warrior," Jomei growled. Bankotsu's grin furthered itself.

"Excuse me, _Lady _Kagome, would you be so kind as to pick one out of the racks behind you and give us an exhibition of your skills?"

Kagome looked at him as though he were a simpleton.

"Yes, then next _you_ can demonstrate how easy a task it is to move wrapped in layers of silk."

This time, the smothered laughter was directed at their commander. His brow furrowed for a moment, wrinkling the purple cross on his forehead, but it passed as soon as it appeared.

"Of course, my Lady" he recovered smoothly. "We will have a chat with your guard here while you change into something...more suitable."

Before Jomei could voice his disapproval at being separated for Kagome, Sesshomaru added that he too, was interested in seeing Kagome fight and would send Jaken to accompany her, saying that the Staff of Heads was more than able to 'assist' in protecting the 'ambassador' as she seemed confident of being capable of defending herself.

00

After a few minutes had passed, an arguement broke out.

"So, Jomei," Bankotsu began. "Been playing teacher with the wench?"

So quick, Jomei had his tanto at Bankotsu's throat. He quivered with anger, scratching the dark haired warrior slightly.

"Do not force me to carve 'Lady Kagome' on your forehead commander," he said through gritted teeth.

"Enough," Sesshomaru said, looking pointedly at Jomei. "You will release my warrior. And Bankotsu, you will not be so improper in addressing dignitaries."

A male light demon with lavender hair spoke up from his seat by the wall. Like Sesshomaru, he was in full dress instead of battle clothes and Jomei knew he must be one of the tactical commanders.

"If she has been taught by anyone with even a drop of Toshiro's blood, the wait will be worth it."

Jomai turned toward him and bowed.

"You honor my family."

The demon inclined his head.

"It is an honor they deserve."

The shoji door slid open and Jomei almost groaned. That worthless youkai exterminator.

(Flashback)

_"Lady Kagome, I know I can never really do anything to show my appreciation for saving my sister, but I hope you will take this as a token of my gratitude...and apology for attacking you," a dark haired girl said with her eyes looking at her feet as she handed the youkai a package. Jomei watched her mistrustfully._

_"Oh Sango, thank you. I'm just glad I came in time! Tell Suki to get well soon for me. And tell Sango I said hello," Kagome let out a smile of amusement. "At least it's been easy to keep all of the women of your family straight! It's the oldest who is always named Sango?"_

_"Yes, after my great, great, great, great, great...well, you know, grandmother who defeated the hanyou Naraku after he tricked her brother into killing their father and the rest of the village's extermination team."_

_"Ah, I remember. Thank you for the present Sango!" Kagome said with a wave of farewell._

(End Flashback)

And here his lady stood, hair in a braid long enough to brush against her upper thighs, with a navy and white demon exterminator outfit on, looking as though an artist had painted it upon her. He watched as the many low-bred youkai stared at her with undisguised lust. Even Bankotsu and Sesshomaru threw appraising eyes at her figure. She carried Kaiya and it looked as though Jaken and a few others had not gotten over the shock of seeing a woman with such a formidable weapon.

"Well Commander Bankotsu, are you ready?" she asked as she swung the long plait of her midnight hair over her shoulder. He looked stunned still but recovered at the sound of her voice.

"Oh no, Lady Kagome," he threw Jomei a look. "I wouldn't want you to injure yourself fighting someone beyond your skills. You will fight..."

He glanced around the room until he found a face.

"Makoto!"

A young, rather quiet crane youkai stumbled out of the masses into the clearing. He blushed and looked at his feet, uncomfortable and gangly. Kagome felt bad for the boy but it didn't assuage the anger that bubble up in her at Bankotsu's words. She wanted to make sure he would taste steel today.

"All right, but if I defeat him you will give me a better challenge." Bankotsu smiled at her.

"'If', Lady Kagome," he agreed. She turned to Sesshomaru.

"Sesshomaru-sama, will you please revive anyone I kill?" He nodded agreement and went to take a seat next to the light demon that had spoken for Jomei. The rest of the warriors retreated to the walls to give the combatants more space.

Kagome could see that Makoto was shaking and decided she would just unarm him. She danced away from his sloppy thrusts until she could see an opening. Kagome came from underneath and knocked the glaive into the air. She caught it before it hit the ground and gave the crane youkai a small smile and bow. He smiled back and blushed as he retrieved the weapon from her.

The next was a lizard youkai with a katana who she also disamed with a similar trick. Then Bankotsu chose was a boar youkai. He grumbled when his name was called.

"All she ken do is fancee tricks," and then looking straight at her, "Killin's a dif'rent matter girlie."

With a downward chop Kagome broke his glaive then thrust hers into his stomach and twisted while shoving him backwards. She turned to face Bankotsu, a few drops of blood spattered across the bridge of her nose like freckles and the tinge of red draining from her eyes.

"You're next, no more games."

Jomei's heart thudded twice. He wished he was as confident in his teaching ability as she was.

Sesshomaru rose and revived the dead youkai, who bowed his thank you and retreated to the masses who jeered at him as they did Kagome's last two opponents.

Bankotsu and Kagome stood in the middle of the room, facing off. Bankotsu made the first move, running straight at her and thrusting his halberd toward her. Kagome used the staff part of her glaive to slam the point into the ground and used her momentum to forward flip over his head. She landed in a crouch facing the other way and swung the glaive around with her right arm. Bankotsu had already moved out of the way and was coming, once again, straight at her. She rose and twirled the staff in a horizontal figure eight pattern blocking every attempt to penetrate her defenses. But he was pushing her back, and that wasn't good, so she switched to a vertical firgure eight and viciously cut a lock of his hair off. He back flipped away from her breathing heavily. Kagome re-assumed her stance and watched her opponent with cold eyes. He smiled at her.

"And here I thought the uses of a female didn't extend past the bedroom," he said musingly. Jomei's eyes reddened in anger, a half a second away from beheading the impudent Bankotsu until Kagome's voice stopped him.

"And here I thought I would have an opponent with some skills, instead of a weakling who resorts to insults to goad me into blind anger," she answered calmly.

This time the charge forward was mutual. They met in the middle, staff against staff to separate them, each straining to push the other to the floor.

"Go home, little girl and stop pretending to..." he was cut off by her laugh.

"For pretending, I think I'm doing a pretty good job of defeating you!" She broke the stalemate and whirled away, forcing him to move quick to avoid the flashing blue blade. Her braided hair followed her like a live snake, twining and curling about her.

"You..." he was interrupted again.

"Stop talking, _boy_, and fight me!" Her voice was taunting and confident.

Bankotsu's face reddened and he came at her with sharp jabs, faster than he had before, and Kagome had to grudgingly admit to herself that he had been holding back as she concentrated on blocking. Suddenly it came to her...literally. As the blade of his halberd thrust toward her, she grabbed it with her gloved hand, pushed it to the right and delivered a neck-snapping left kick to the side of his head. He recovered unreasonably fast and Kagome was forced to retreat backwards with him following. But suddenly she changed directions, pushing off the wood floor, and came straight at him. Bankotsu moved to the side, but she anticipated him and swung her blade around to behead him. He forced his upper body to bend back and then she was past him, on one knee with her blade outstretched to the side of her about 25 feet away. He smirked at her as she rose and turned.

Then, a line of blood appeared on his jawbone and dropped a tear of red.

"First blood," Jomei said quietly, but all heard him. Kagome smiled at Bankotsu and gave him a warrior's bow.

"Commander," she murmured. And then she turned to Sesshomaru and the demon next to him and bowed. "My lord."

"Well done," he said, his face impassive.

"I had an excellent teacher," was her response with a huge grin. Jomei came from the crowd, bowed to Lord Sesshomaru, and took Kagome's elbow.

"If you will excuse us, Lord Sesshomaru, Lady Kagome has other engagements she must attend to, and I fear this...incident has made her slightly tardy for them."

Sesshomaru nodded and Kagome let Jomei lead her out of the room, obedient, but clearly confused. The demon with lavender hair spoke.

"She is impressive." Sesshomaru looked at him.

"She has been spoiled by those around her, Akeno."

"So you will not let her use the dojo?"

"She may, as she is a visiting dignitary, but my father must be mad if he believes I would ever mate with a demoness that doesn't conduct herself properly."

Akeno smiled.

"A nice change from layers of kimonos, don't you think?"

Sesshomaru knew he was being teased about a mere _glance_ at the woman's figure. It wasn't as if he could help it with the outfit she had on.

The light demon was used to these one-sided conversations.

"Did you notice...?"

Sesshomaru cut him off.

"It was nothing."

Akeno smiled slyly and continued with a different line of questioning.

"The one that accompanies her, he is the fifth son of Toshiro."

Sesshomaru stayed silent, but Akeno ventured another.

"How is it that the Hoshikito Clan ended up with Toshiro and his sons instead of the Inu-nishi?"

Sesshomaru glared at him and walked out of the dojo. Akeno was still grinning.

00

Jomei was silent for most of the walk back to the main building. Kagome was hesitant to ask him about the fight.

"You did well," he said abruptly. She answered him with a gleeful smile.

"But you must hurry and bathe; we must take lunch in an hour with the rest of the ambassadors," he continued.

"An hour is plenty of time," Kagome said breezily, twirling Kaiya. As they turned a corner, the pair was met by two female youkai, who squealed at the sight of a whirling blade so close to them. Jomei rolled his eyes in annoyance at the obviously sheltered and spoiled ladies. When they passed, Kagome's look of disgust fell and she ventured a question.

"When are you going to bring out Kurobashi and give me a real challenge?" Kagome had named her naginata after hearing that it was a tradition in his family's household after receiving a weapon as a gift. Jomei had told her what the name of his glaive was along with an explanation.

(Flashback)

_"Kurobashi. It means black bridge. Father used to threaten to send us across the 'black bridge of death' when me or my brothers misbehaved."_

_Kagome found it quite funny._

(End Flashback)

00

Sesshomaru knelt at a low table in his room. His thoughts were on the young Hoshikito demoness.

It was odd. When she was fighting it seemed as thought there was a hint of..._purity_ in her. Not enough to kill a demon, not even enough so that one could outright sense it, but the tiniest thread woven into her tapestry. A fluttering. A breath. An almost.

But that was impossible. Demonic nature dictated that anything with human purity was either killed or the cause of death.

He would have Jaken research this further. If the toad had one use, it was that he was ridiculously knowledgeable on the history and genealogy of the six High Families.

00

His lady came down in one of the fashions of the Northeast that were the rage at home. One color, chosen to flatter the wearer, but different shades. Kagome, of course, wore blue. The kimonos were made of silk so fine it was sheer. The kimono layer that was closest to the body was white, followed by a dark, but bright blue and then a cerulean that sparkled with glass beads in the pattern of fish and flowers. Her slippers and obi were both white and embroidered with silver waves.

Jomei wondered why all women couldn't dress as beautifully. They just didn't understand the motto 'Less is more'...or at least that's why Kagome said. She argued with her father Meiko constantly about the 'plainness' of her kimonos.

Especially the kimono she would wear when she first met Sesshomaru and Inutashio officially. Kagome's choice was the one she had on currently; Meiko's had been this ridiculously overwrought...thing complete with cloth-of-gold bedecked in precious jems, silver embroidered kanji and six under-kimono layers of alternating reds and purples. Jomei thought maybe she had given the thing to Sango's family. Had Kagome not been such a caring demon to humans, more than likely Sango would have surmised she was buying off the gravedigger.

Jomei had been given an invitation to join the luncheon. His status as Kagome's shugo would have put him standing guard nearby but his status as Toshiro's son put him in a seat next to her. Kagome was seated next to Inutaisho and across from Sesshomaru. Kohana, Inutaisho's mistress, was still bedridden from her miscarriage. Akeno was also there, and a few demons that Kagome did not personally know.

"Lady Kagome, I hear from my son that you are skilled with the naginata," Inutaisho began. Kagome had the modesty to blush slightly.

"Yes, Lord Inutaisho, I fear that my pigheadedness as a child caused me to order my guard to instruct me in defending myself with weapons."

"Don't be ashamed of it," he snorted. "Lady Hisa of the East has all three of her children trained how to handle a sword along with their demonic powers and her oldest is female."

"Really? I had not known that," Kagome mused, then continued more assertively. "And I am not ashamed of anything, merely surprised that Sesshomaru-sama metioned it to you."

"When a woman comes in and defeats your training commander in less than a quarter of an hour, it is something one mentions to the head of the household," Sesshomaru said dryly.

Kagome nearly shrugged but caught herself in time and just lowered her eyes for a moment before speaking.

"His fighting style is..." she searched for the right word. "Repetitive. It is, I think, from the mnemonic methods he uses to train the army."

Jomei smiled inwardly at how easily his lady impressed the company. She was well-educated, had an extremely good grasp on everything around her, was beautiful, deadly, funny, caring, innocent...

"Son of Toshiro, you defeated your older brothers to obtain this post?"

(Flashback)

_(Toshiro talking to Jiro, Renzo, and Jomei)_

_"Kagome-sama is the only daughter left to bear children of Mareo's line. She carries in her, hope. Know that if you are lucky enough to obtain this assignment, it will be a life-long pact. It is more important than guarding anyone else in their family, anyone else in all of Japan."_

_They answered in unison._

_"Yes, Father."_

(End Flashback)

"Only Jiro and Renzo. Ichiro had an important assignment to complete and Goro had yet to take and pass Father's final test for him."

"Why go through so much for Kagome-sama, no insult intended Lady," Kagome nodded as Inutaisho turned his eyes toward her.

"She is the only daughter of Meiko. It was his wish. We owe him a great debt."

"Yes, a blood debt if I remember the story correctly. Your Great Grandfather, Jomei?"

"Yes, Grandpa Shippo."

00

This story...its unlike all of my others. I wrote the plot, researched it, figured out families and the quirks that make them so...everything. Its my _piece de resistance_, my epic, my _tour de force_, my _magnum opus_, and a bunch of other foreign words. Its...my _baby_. So enjoy or hate, but respect the thought and planning that went into it.

After I have finished this, I will undertake the revision of all my other works, because most of them were written with half-assed ideas and plots. Then perhaps I will finish the stories that are currently not posted, but neglected in my WIP folder with only three or four chapters written.


	2. The Lord and the Fox

The Lord and the Fox

**Japanese lingo/names**

Sachio: Fortunately born

Michio: Man with strength of three thousand

Gin: silvery

00000

There once was a forest with an enchanted well. There once was a forest with a miko's village. There once was a forest that housed the Jewel of Four Souls.

They were all the same forest.

Lord Mareo, ruler of the Northeastern Lands, had come across this forest on his travels. He had sat on the edge of the enchanted well, walked the miko's village, and seen the Shikon.

It was just beginning to be fall. Summer still had a say in the weather, but the cool nights had come more frequently. But on this day it was warm and Mareo trod the path in quiet contemplation. He thought of a woman who had captured his attentions recently. A lovely woman; strong, with ebony hair and eyes, pale skinned and tall, human and miko...

Mareo's first wife had been ill for eight weeks before she had finally succumbed to the sickness and died. There were whispers that the Demon's Council had poisoned her, as she had lost her ability to bear children after the birth of Sachio. It was odd, because she had gotten through Michio's entrance onto this plain of living with no problems and no complications. Mareo thought of her with regret rather than sadness. She was a good woman, but not the choice of his heart.

Mareo always tried to follow his heart.

And this time it had led him to this tiny village that should be of no importance. Yet, a small jewel made it one of the most frequented places in the countryside. Many demons sought after this Shikon. Mostly they were weak demons looking for power.

Mareo was not a weak demon.

The miko, called Kikyo, was somewhat hostile to him when he first came through. It hadn't exactly been an accident, but neither had it been intentional. It was...an unconsious force. She had tried to seal him to a tree when they first met, and he joked later on that it was only his good looks that saved him.

Mareo was not a handsome demon.

He liked to talk of how his mother was so ashamed at having an ugly child. She threatened to drown him more often than not. It was thought that perhaps she would drown him with the tears she cried at having a son that was sub-par. Herself being beautiful, she could not understand it.

Mareo loved his mother.

How odd is it that a child gravitates to the parent that shows the most disapproval. And always the child tries and tries to win their approval, sometimes going to such great lengths that they become broken. It was his father that was proud of him. His father saw what his son could be. Saw how hard he worked to make up for the perfection he lacked in his visage.

Mareo disliked his father.

He felt his father was always in the shadows, trying to mold him into something. Always watching, so stoic, so emotionless. It made him so angry, and he didn't know why. His father always looked at his mother in disgust.

Mareo understood.

As he aged and became stronger and stronger, he traveled. It was during these times that he began to recognize his parents for who and what they were. His mother was a child, obsessed with how she looked and immature in the way she dealt with it. She needed the pity of her colleagues to feel worth since she could not have their admiration. She envied Gin, her childhood friend who had gone on to marry into the prestigious Inu-nishi Clan. Gin was always talked about and imitated while she was stuck in the Northeast; married to the most secretive and discrete of the High Families of Japan. His father was a victim of society, trying simply to raise a family and being met with different orders. He could have been a soldier-youkai, he could have been a human for all that mattered, so long as he had a family he could love and take care of, who would be there at the end of the day to greet him. Simple things. Little things.

Mareo was fortunate.

Had he not grasped these facts about his parents and childhood, more than likely his life would have been on a very different track. But, later in life, he knew all this to be true and strived to be like his father in many aspects. And this was how he came to love the miko.

Mareo was charming.

After she had tried to seal him and failed, Kikyo realized she was no match for true love. She fell hard, as a woman of her station was not allowed to do. She went so far as to give the demon lord a shard of the Shikon Jewel. While not being able to grant wishes, is doubled the owner's strength, stamina, and speed. The demon was touched by the gesture of her going to such great lengths to accommodate him, and while he did not believe in using the shard, he kept it with him at all times. It was usually sealed in a container that prevented detection, but it had broken after a particularly nasty fight with a panther demon. To get a new one (and to see his miko) was the reason he was in this part of Japan.

And so, it was on this day in the forest with the well and the miko and the Jewel, that Mareo met Shippou.

The demon came out of the trees as a big pink balloon. Mareo was not sure whether this was to startle and scare him, or make him laugh. The second option was the most fitting for the situation, but as soon as he started to chuckle, the pink balloon spoke.

"Give me your piece of the Shikon Jewel!"

And then the pink balloon bit him in the head.

Mareo was quite stunned at this and grabbed the offending thing. He held it up in front of his face and with a pop! the balloon had turned into a small arctic kitsune. He was covered in auburn fur, in keeping with his kind's trend of changing color with the seasons. The young boy struggled a bit in the older demon's grasp as Mareo tried to figure out why it was attacking him, of all people.

"What are you doing?" It seemed like a good question to start out with.

"I need that shard of the Shikon!" the fox resumed his struggling. "Give it to me now, or I will take it from you!"

"Why so greedy, little demon?" Mareo said gently. "This was a gift to me."

And as abruptly as the encounter had started, the kitsune began to cry. The fox, whose name turned out to be Shippo, told Mareo about a duo of youkai that had killed his family for nothing more than their pelts and how he was going to use the shard to become stronger and avenge their deaths. Mareo agreed that the crime was indeed heinous and agreed to let Shippou borrow the shard if he could accompany him to defeat these lightening demons.

His inner thoughts were filled with turmoil. These borderlands, along the outskirts of the areas patrolled and ruled by the High Families, seemed to be havens for vagrants. This information troubled him and he resolved to have it remedied as soon as possible.

When the pair neared the area of the two murdering youkai, Shippou asked that Mareo stand back while he defeated the youkai. Mareo acceeded, but kept a watchful eye on the 'battle'. It consisted mostly of Shippou using his magic trickery to make the lightening brothers laugh at his desperate attempts to fight.

Mareo decided to step in when it seemed as though Shippou might have been in mortal peril. He drew his tempermental demon sword Sou'unga and dealt chopping blows to the young kitsune's foes. Mareo took Shippou to see Kikyo, who patched up the handful of scrapes the fox had acquired.

Shippou, in his gratitude and shining moment of nobility, pledged his life, and the lives of his children to protecting Mareo's family.

Mareo accepted his pledge on the condition that it would begin on the kitsune's 19th birthday, when he reached adulthood. Shippou agreed and asked Kikyo to witness and they parted ways. Mareo fully expected that was the last time he would see the little fox.

It was when he was mourning the death of Kikyo that Shippou arrived. Mareo was kneeling at her grave, holding back tears. He heard footsteps in the grass that came to a stop about six feet behind him to his left.

"Leave me," he said gruffly, taking the presence as being a servant or general of his. The footsteps continued forward and clawed hands grabbed his upper arms and lifted him to his feet.

"Come, Lord Mareo," the voice was unfamilar and gravely and Mareo turned. The once tiny fox had indeed grown into an adult, with scars littering his body and a hard glint in his eye.

Shippou took him to the library and told him what had happened to him during the time they had been apart. He told Mareo of his travels over the water and to the mountains of a place called Tibet, where he learned to fight with every weapon known to demonkind, and even some that weren't. He told him of his return to Japan and how he had saved the patriarch of the Inu-nishi clan from an assassination attempt and was offered the position of General in their army.

"Why didn't you take it, son?" Mareo asked. His voice still had that hollow sound of grief. Shippou gave him a warm smile and he looked like that little kitsune in the forest that tried to steal his Shikon shard.

"I had a debt to repay."

Shippou stayed as the official Hoshiko Clan bodyguard, signing with blood what he had promised with words in Kikyo's hut. And after he married, each of his three sons pledged their lives to Mareo's family. And then their sons did the same, to each ruling Lord of the clan up to the present. And no matter what, it was always done in the presence of Kikyo's grave, and later Mareo's, who was buried next to his true love.

00

There was silence around the table as Jomei finished retelling the story. He left out the most important part of course, Kikyo's child, but no one could know of that...not yet.

"Facinating," Inutaisho began. "That is far more detailed that what I was told as a child."

Jomei was startled in his mind, but outwardly he did not show it. This inuyoukai couldn't know Mareo's secret, could he?

"What was the story you were told?" Kagome inquired.

"I was told that Mareo had come upon the kitsune while he was battling the thunder brothers. There was no mention of a Shikon shard."

Jomei sighed with partial relief. It wasn't bad that outsiders knew about the shard, but neither was it good.

"I suppose it is not well known, but yes, that is what happened."

"Wait a moment," one of the generals, a panda youkai, interjected. "You said that Lord Mareo used Sou'unga to defeat the lightning demons. That sword has been in the West for..."

"Three hundred and fifty years," Kagome interrupted. "Great grandpa gave it to Inutaisho after some of the other High Families complained that he had a powerful sword _and _Shippou's family. Stupid...and we don't even live as long as you..."

Jomei cleared his throat and tried to get rid of the blush that threatened his cheeks. He tried to undo some of the damage.

"Inutaisho was the only one that could control the spirit of Sou'unga besides Lord Mareo's line. And it was given as a gift for his betrothal." He said the last part slightly louder for Kagome's benefit.

Inutaisho laughed.

"Lord Mareo did have strong-willed ancestors, too bad the physical strength has waned," he was deliberately teasing Kagome and she knew it.

"I'll be glad to show you how little you know about my family, Inutaisho, whenever you wish," she said heatedly.

"Careful, Inutaisho; remember, she scratched Commander Bankotsu today," the panda youkai warned jokingly. Kagome almost screamed in frustration. She tried to rise from the table, but Jomei held her down and whispered in her ear.

"They are _joking_, Lady Kagome. Why are you getting so defensive?"

"He's doing it on purpose..." she began.

"Of course he is. It is custom, Lady Kagome, nothing more. You were taught this before you were allowed to leave the Northeast. Now calm down!"

She fidgeted for a moment but kept silent.

"One day perhaps, Lady Kagome. I have no doubt you are well-trained, but I have considerably more experience."

"Yes, Lord Inutaisho," she said softly.

Sesshomaru had watched her almost rip through the table to get to his father, then with a few words from that kitsune, she became a perfect lady, accepting the dominance of the male. If she would be that demure about one-hundred percent of the time, Sesshomaru thought that he might consider mating her.

00


	3. The Heir and the KuroInu

00

The Heir and the Kuro-Inu

Okay, here is going to be a little confusing, so I'm going to write up a family tree for you. It will include the genders and the type of youkai, plus their **approximate** age in human years (don't try to do the math...its approximation etc.). Also, Don't worry if doesn't add up or it seems like someone had a kid at 14 because remember: in this story youkai age like humans for the first nineteen years or so and then one to four years for every century after that.

Western-Inutaisho m,48; Sesshomaru m,27: Inu

Northern-Kin m,51 and Mitsu f,49; Akeno m,27, Mai f,25, Kyoko f,23, Rai m,21: Light (also known as Celestials)

Southern-Yukio m,47 and Hana f,48; Kouga m,24, Ginta m,23, Ayame f,22 : Wolf

Eastern- Hisa f,63 and Ryuukotsusei m, 60; Kimi f,29, Kamlyn m,26, Keitaro m,25: Dragon

Southwestern-Ichiro m,56 and Natsuka f,57; Michiko f,25, Leiko f,24, Kei f,23, Sachi f,21: Inu

Northeastern-Meiko m,40 and Sumi (died in childbirth); Kagome f,23, Kioshi m,23 (twins): Inu

Specifically the Northeastern Clan

(Kenji and Satu are twins)

Meiko's younger brother: Kenji m,39; Morio m,22, Mikio m,22 (twins)

Meiko's younger sister: Satu f,39; Udo m,22, Botan m,21, Rinji m,19

Meiko's older cousin: Taka f,46; Reizo m,28, Kentaro m,25, Manzo m,24

Kagome's Great Uncle (mom's side) Shijo 58; only living daughter Orino 31 who is barren (other children dead)

Kagome's Great Aunt (Father's side) Akina 55; who has a son Kado m 29-his children all died young

Saburo's kids Taji m,30 and Shoda m,26

Whew! okay and since I don't want to write the meaning of every name, there's a link at the bottom of the page. Most of the people who are specifically Northeastern Clan won't be mentioned until later, but I'll try to remember to post it at the beginning of the chapters that introduce a bunch of new people

00000

That night there was a welcoming dinner for the new 'ambassador'. There were many minor dignitaries, lower nobility's daughters, and of course at least one daughter from each of the six Families. One of the things that all young noble demons and demonesses learn at an early age is the geneaology of their peers. Kin and his wife Mitsu, the Celestials of the North sent both of their daughters and a son; Mai and Kyoko as potential brides and Akeno had come out of the friendship he and Sesshomaru shared. Kagome was somewhat friendly with the girls as she had grown up very close to them, but Akeno she did not know well. Ichiro and Natsuka, Inuyoukai of the Southwest, sent Michiko, Leiko, and Kei; all of their daughters except the youngest. All were beautiful and knew it, but Michiko was especially breathtaking. Yukio and his wife Hana of the Southern Ookami sent their only daughter Ayame and their son Kouga to accompany her. Kagome didn't know either of the wolves, but Kouga sent her a rakish smile when her gaze fell on him. The dragoness Hisa of the Eastern Lands sent her only daughter Kimi, who was older than Sesshomaru by a half a century. She looked powerful and commanding, a woman who would take no crap from a male. Kimi was her mother's daughter. And of course, Meiko had sent Kagome.

She looked around the room for some familiar faces and saw her Aunt Taka with her three boys. Technically Taka was her great cousin, but it was easier just to call her Aunt. She had married out of the family and had a longer lifespan. Consequently, that was passed down to her sons should they choose to keep to the outer apogee of the Clan; the periphery the that curse didn't reach to. But that was unlikely. They always came back into the fold. Next to them was her Great Uncle on her mother's side, Shijo, also not a member of the inner clan. Kagome looked away quickly before she drew their attention; Aunt Taka always made her feel uncomfortable. And Reizo...she didn't even want to think of him.

Fortunately in the other direction there were two similar-looking neko youkai with brown hair and green eyes grinning at her. She excused herself and walked a little too fast to be called proper in their direction.

"Nikki! Nikko! What are you doing in the West?" she said, almost breathless with excitement.

"Pay our respects to the Inu-nishi, of course," Nikko said, differing from his twin sister by having slightly darker, cocoa-colored hair. Nikki's eyes were also more gray-green; his were a definite dark leaf color, He jerked his thumb over to a knot of men conversing. "Da's over that way, if you wanta say hi."

"Where did you get that kimono, Kagome?" Nikki exclaimed. Kagome had chosen to layer a sheer lilac kimono with navy blue embroidery over a white one, with a silver obi to finish the look. The embroidery on the back depicted Lord Mareo with Sou'unga, and the spirit that was released when the sword was unsheathed (think 3rd movie, when Inutaisho is about to kill Takemaru and there is that misty smoke-dragon-thing...but obviously not Inutaisho on her back).

"Oh, Maemi made it for me...Jomei's mother." Secretly, she had changed to spite Inutaisho and everyone who was loyal to this damned Inu Clan. But before she could explain her reasoning, there was an interruption.

"Ah, Lady Kagome, seeing as how you embarrassed me so thoroughly in front of my men and my Lord Sesshomaru, I think it only fair that you dance with me to assuage my wounded pride." Bankotsu had come upon the three abruptly and knelt before her with a flourish, causing somewhat of a stir with the surrounding youkai. Nikki and Nikko looked at her questioningly.

"Ask Jomei," she muttered and took the proffered hand. This type of entertainment was taken from the youkai culture of the Western European area. There were a few there that night, looking uncomfortable in the unfamiliar clothing, but confident in their dancing abilities.

The pair of former sparring foes joined a group dance that switched from partner to partner, conversing when they could.

"You have excellent form, Lady Kagome," Bankotsu commented.

"Yes, Jomei was very persistent about proper stance being the ultimate tool in a fight," Kagome said shrewdly. Bankotsu let out a hearty laugh.

"I meant your dancing, love, not your fighting."

"Oh," Kagome wrinkled her nose as she was passed to a very handsome moth youkai. He smiled at her before giving her away to the panda general she met earlier that day and finally back to Bankotsu.

"But you have excellent form fighting as well."

"Thank you," she said with a nod of her head.

"Will you be practicing in the dojo?"

"Yes. Sometimes," as she was whirled away again. She was given back to Bankotsu as the dance ended.

"Thank you, Commander Bankotsu," she said.

"No, thank you, my Lady," he bowed over her hand and dropped a featherlight kiss on her knuckles. "I hope to have a rematch one day...the fight, not the dance." He added as and afterthought. It made her grin.

She made her way to where the twins had cornered Jomei about the incident Bankotsu had mentioned to get her to dance with him. Nikki clapped her hands in excitement when Kagome arrived at Jomei's side.

"Kagome, I had no idea you had it in you!" Nikko said. "I mean, I knew you had probably talked Jomei into teaching you some stuff, but wow!"

"Thanks Nikko." She turned to her bodyguard. "Do you mind if I retire? I'm feeling a little tired tonight."

"Of course, my Lady," Jomei murmured and offered her his arm.

"I'll see you two sometime later in the week," she told the twins who nodded and left the room relatively unnoticed.

00

It was past midnight, probably about three in the morning when Kagome woke, suddenly restless. She went to the small balcony of her room and looked at the stars, then at the grounds surrounding her.

_Jomei would be so mad if he found out_...

She tossed herself over the edge and ran as fast as she could towards the main gates and jumped over those. When she was out of the sight of anyone in the city or surrounding villages, Kagome flung off the yukata she had put on when she awoke. She relished in the feel of chill air upon her skin for only a moment and then youki snaked about her as she transformed into a huge black dog. She held back a howl of triumph, lest it awaken anyone, and just ran as hard and as fast as she could. It soothed her, on nights like these.

But Sesshomaru was also restless this night, awake, and had seen her leave the city. He followed her on a cloud of youki high in the air so as not to be detected. He nearly fell off the cloud of youki when she tore off her clothes.

He followed her as she made a wide loop and came back to the area she had undressed in, making sure he had her clothes in hand when she came looking for them.

00

Kagome sniffed the ground with her snout. This was the spot, but her clothes were gone. There was a very, very, very faint trace of youki, but it smelled like...Sesshomaru?

"Lose something?" The voice came from above. Kagome growled as he floated down. He held the yukata out to her, but she wouldn't take it.

"I have already seen you in the nude once, _Lady_," he sneered, toning the last word sarcastically. Kagome half growled-half barked and Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and turned around, arm still outstretched. He felt her shrink and she snatched the garment out of his hand. He waited a moment and then turned around to come face to face with a very pissed demoness.

"You followed me?" she hissed.

"Well if your excuse for a bodyguard can't keep an eye on you..." he never finished, as Kagome leapt to attack him. He grabbed her wrists and with a whirl, pinned her to the ground beneath him.

"One would think that we are courting," he commented with a sly smile that earned him struggling and a snarl.

"Don't be stupid," she spat, still trying to wriggle out from underneath him. The movement intensified and Sesshomaru felt his control begin to slip, eliciting a growl from him and a pause in movement and the appearance of heavy-lidded eyes from her. They looked at each other for a long moment before there was a frenzy of kissing. Sesshomaru threaded his claws through her hair, the other keeping him slightly above her and still clamped around her wrist. Kagome grabbed his clothes with the hand that had been freed. She proceeded to tear them off as Sesshomaru ravaged her mouth. All of the movement had caused her yukata to loosen and one deliciously round white breast topped with a small coral-colored nipple was exposed. He moved his hand to squeeze it roughly, pinning the pink bud between his first two fingers. Kagome moaned into his mouth and arched her back, wrapping her legs around him and grinding her pelvis into his as she pulled at his hair.

Then as suddenly as it started the two broke apart, the red bleeding from their eyes, Kagome scuttling away from him with wide eyes.

"You...you are in heat," Sesshomaru choked out, rising from where he sat about six feet apart from her. He realized now that the scent, which rose to a suffocating degree when he had stopped her attack, was what caused him to act without thinking; he was not expecting a receptive female and failed to guard himself accordingly. Kagome nodded, gasping for air and blushing, pulling the folds of the yukata closed again as she knelt into a more comfortable position.

"Sorry..." He interrupted her apology

"It is not the time. How...?" both were still trying to catch their breath. Kagome knew she had to explain. Her stupid father. He should have known this would happen.

"You know that most of the men of my clan do not live as long as they should." Sesshomaru nodded, a mystery of the Hoshikito Clan where the male's aging seemed to speed up so that they lived only a couple hundred years at most. Kagome continued. "The women make up for it by being fertile every month for five days."

Had Sesshomaru not been, well, Sesshomaru, he probably would have gasped. Instead he merely nodded. But there was more.

"And our carrying time is nine months."

This time Sesshomaru stopped dead and fixed her with a gimlet eye.

"Are you serious?" he asked softly. That was three months less the time of a normal youkai.

"Yes. It's not a secret, just nobody ever asked," she said stubbornly. "Besides, the carrying time is longer if we mate outside the Clan. Although, when we mate outside the clan our lifespan matches our mates..."

Her musing was interrupted by her companion.

"How long is the carrying time?"

"Around ten or so?"

More than likely, ten would just be seen as a premature birth and not cause too big of a stir. But still, no wonder the Hoshikito Clan was always having children! Fertile twelve times times as much as a normal demoness? Can have twice as many pups in three years? Twins ran rampant in the family too. He needed Jaken to research this. He needed to research this. He needed anyone to research this.

"You will speak of this incident to no one," he said suddenly.

"Gah! Well of course, I wouldn't want Father to hear and think I'm trying to mate you," she said nonchalantly after the one word outburst, picking leaves out of her hair. Then she realized what she said and clapped a hand over her mouth.

"What?" he said dangerously, rising.

"Well, you see, I suppose you're not a horrible demon to be with, but I don't really want to mate you," she said blushing and looking up at his form towering above her.

"That is not what it seemed like a few moments ago."

She glared at him and rose.

"Momentary loss of control," she sniffed as she crossed her arms. "Besides I have things to take care of before I mate."

"Such as?"

"Such as traveling! I'm going over to the eastern continent to fight in the War!" she dared him to laugh. "If I mate now, I'll be pupped for the rest of my life."

"The West needs pups," he mused.

"Not from me!" she exclaimed heatedly. "And I will mate for love!"

Sesshomaru looked perplexed.

"Youkai do not love."

Kagome looked at him with a sad expression.

"Yes they do, Sesshomaru. If the Council didn't meddle in everything, youkai would love all of the time."

And there it was again. That purity, shimmering in the air like a single note.

"What is that?"

"What is what?" Kagome asked.

"You have purification in your youki."

As soon as he mentioned this, it disappeared.

"You are insane Sesshomaru; youki cannot exist with purification," she said, but her voice sounded practiced and wooden. He put a hand under her chin and lifted her eyes to his. They were blank. He sighed inwardly.

Her lips parted slightly and he remembered how sweet she tasted. His head bent slightly and then the sun peeked over the horizon, shining in his eyes. Kagome gasped and broke from his grasp.

"We must get back! Jomei is going to kill me!"

Sesshomaru was surprised to find himself disliking that name. And the sun. And the council. And everything else that wasn't her right now.

00000

Link is: www. babynamesworld. com / names5 / japanese-names-and-meanings. html

Minus the spaces of course.

P.S. **CobaltHeart** awesome.


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